Page 3 of Christmas Baby with Her Ultra-Rich Boss

‘It has,’ she confirmed. ‘I have the accounts for the last quarter ready if—’

‘The business side will be dealt with later,’ he interrupted. ‘My first priority is to tour The Igloo.’ Get that part over with and then he could spend the rest of his short stay here out of the damned cold.

She nodded and gave another of her bright smiles and indicated the tall Scandinavian manning the reception desk with a young Spanish woman. ‘Perhaps Sven can—’

‘No. You’re the manager. It is for you to show me around it.’

Her lips twitched and another flash of apprehension flickered in her eyes but Lena’s smile didn’t waver. ‘Of course. I only suggested Sven because his father was the lead architect and Sven was involved in creating one of the art rooms.’

‘Do you not have the same knowledge of its creation?’ he challenged.

‘I do, as do all the staff.’

‘Good. Sven can show me to my cabin. Meet me back here in thirty minutes and we can get started.’

‘Do you want to walk or ski to The Igloo? Or go by snowmobile?’ Lena’s preferred way of getting around the complex was with skis. It didn’t actually involve any real skiing in the hurling down a mountain sense; it was just an easier way of getting around in these conditions than walking.

‘We will walk,’ he answered, without any hesitation.

‘As you wish.’

He met her eyes, gave a sharp nod, and set off through the reception room with Sven in tow to the back of the lodge and to the most direct route to the cabins.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Lena expelled a long breath and closed her eyes.

Well, that had to rank in the top two most excruciating moments of her life. She couldn’t decide if it trumped the morning after the night before.

She’d gazed at Konstantinos sleeping in her bed with her heart thumping wildly, then climbed out, sniffed his discarded shirt as she’d put it on, and thrown open the blackout curtains. The bright summer sun had kissed skin still marked with the passion of Konstantinos’s mouth, and she had whipped around to face him, joyous laughter bubbling up her throat, legs already preparing to spring back to the bed and wake him with a kiss when she’d found his eyes open. The expression in them had made the laughter die in her throat.

‘Last night was a mistake.’

Those five words had pierced her. In less time than it took to blink, the joy she’d been full to the brim with had seeped out of the hole his piercing words had made.

She’d hugged his shirt tighter around herself and nodded. ‘Yes.’

He’d thrown the sheets off and climbed off the bed. ‘It is not a habit of mine to sleep with the staff. Rest assured it will not happen again.’

Pride made her say, ‘Let’s just put it down to too much wine and forget about it.’

Green eyes more piercing than his tongue fixed on her again. ‘You can do that?’

‘I’m an adult and quite capable of separating my personal life from my professional one. Last night was a slip made when I was off duty and one I doubt either of us would have made if we’d been sober. How about we both chalk it down to experience and never speak of it again?’

She’d forced herself to take the weight of his stare as he sized her up, judging the value of her words. Eventually, he’d given a short nod. ‘As long as we are both of the same mind.’

‘Totally.’ She’d mimed zipping her lips.

He’d almost smiled.

CHAPTER TWO

ONCELENAHADadded a few extra layers over her work clothes, she carried her all-in-one snowsuit from the storeroom to the reception to wait for Konstantinos, only to find he was already there, back turned to her, grilling Sven.

Her heart quivered and jumped painfully, and she closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose, just for a moment, just long enough to catch her emotions before they spilled over.

She hadn’t expected that seeing Konstantinos in the flesh again would feel so emotional. Pregnancy hormones, she supposed, although it pained her to suspect that she would still be reacting in the same way if she hadn’t conceived.

Lena hadn’t expected to fall into bed with him. Until he’d walked her back to her cabin and her heart had suddenly lurched to know their evening together was over, she hadn’t considered him the slightest bit attractive. The uncharitable would go so far as to call Konstantinos Siopis ugly, what with his angular features, his long, sharp, prominent nose that bent at an angle, bowed lips always fixed in a straight line, and deep-set eyes ringed in dark shadows and topped with bushy black eyebrows. He wore his thick, curly hair cropped short and clad his long, rangy figure in varying shades of black. That he rarely smiled only enhanced the impression of brooding, almost vampiric unattractive menace. That his fang teeth were a teensy bit longer than the rest only added to this. If he were an actor, he’d be typecast as the baddie, every time.

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